# 1942–43 NCAA men's basketball season

The 1942–43 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1942, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1943 NCAA basketball tournament championship game on March 30, 1943, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The Wyoming Cowboys won their first NCAA national championship with a 46–34 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.

## Rule changes

In overtime, a player can commit a fifth foul before fouling out. Previously, a player fouled out after committing four fouls, regardless of whether the game went into overtime or not.

## Season headlines

* In February 1943, the Helms Athletic Foundation retroactively selected its national champions for the seasons from 1919–20 through 1941–42. Beginning with the 1942–43 season, it began to pick each season's national champion annually, a practice it continued through the 1981–82 season.
* Top-ranked Illinois declined to participate in either the NCAA tournament or the National Invitation Tournament after three of its starters were drafted into the United States Army for World War II service.
* The 1943 NCAA Tournament championship game between Wyoming and Georgetown was the only one in history not filmed for posterity. It had a smaller crowd than expected because of the greater local interest in New York City in the championship run St. John's made in the 1943 National Invitation Tournament. Until at least the mid-1950s, the NIT was the more prestigious of the two tournaments.
* As a fundraiser for the American Red Cross, the finalists and semifinalists of the NCAA Tournament and NIT took part in the Sportswriters Invitational Playoff, in which the two tournament champions, Wyoming (NCAA) and St. John's (NIT), and the two runners-up, Georgetown (NCAA) and Toledo (NIT), played each other at Madison Square Garden after their tournaments ended, with the games counting in the teams' records for the season. The NCAA Tournament teams prevailed in both games: Wyoming beat St. John's 52–47 with 18,000 fans in attendance, and the Hoyas defeated Toledo 54–40 to close out the season. The post-tournament benefit games — touted as the "mythical national championship" between the two tournament winners — would be played again in each of the next two seasons.
* With a final record of 31–2, Wyoming became the first team to win 30 or more games in a single season.
* In 1995, the Premo-Porretta Power Poll retroactively selected Illinois as its national champion for the 1942–43 season.

## Conference membership changes

| School | Former conference | New conference |
| Brooklyn Bulldogs | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| CCNY Beavers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Fordham Rams | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| Manhattan Jaspers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| NYU Violets | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| St. Francis (NY) Terriers | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |
| St. John's Redmen | Independent | Metropolitan New York Conference |

## Regular season
### Conferences
#### Conference winners and tournaments

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference player of the year | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Big Six Conference | Kansas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Big Ten Conference | Illinois | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Border Conference | West Texas State | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League | Dartmouth | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Metropolitan New York Conference | St. John's | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Missouri Valley Conference | Creighton | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| New England Conference | Rhode Island State | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Pacific Coast Conference | Washington (North); USC (South) | | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series | No Tournament; Washington defeated USC in best-of-three conference championship playoff series |
| Mountain States (Skyline) Conference | Wyoming | | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
| Southeastern Conference | Tennessee | None selected | 1943 SEC men's basketball tournament | Jefferson County Armory, (Louisville, Kentucky) | Tennessee |
| Southern Conference | Duke | None selected | 1943 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament | Thompson Gym (Raleigh, North Carolina) | George Washington |
| Southwest Conference | Rice & Texas | None selected | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |

#### Conference standings

1942–43 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings :
| 1942–43 Big Six Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kansas10–0 1.00022–6  .786 Missouri7–3 .70018–9  .667 Oklahoma5–5 .5007–10  .412 Nebraska5–5 .5006–10  .375 Iowa State2–8 .2007–9  .438 Kansas State1–9 .1006–14  .300 | 1942–43 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Illinois12–0 1.00017–1  .944 Indiana11–2 .84618–2  .900 Northwestern7–5 .5838–9  .471 Wisconsin6–6 .50012–9  .571 Purdue6–6 .5009–11  .450 Minnesota5–7 .4178–9  .471 Ohio State5–7 .4178–9  .471 Michigan4–8 .33310–8  .556 Iowa3–9 .2507–10  .412 Chicago0–9 .0000–21  .000 | 1942–43 Border Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT West Texas State10–0 1.00015–7  .682 Arizona11–1 .91722–2  .917 Texas Tech7–5 .58313–11  .542 Texas State M&M4–4 .50011–6  .647 Arizona State–Tempe6–6 .50010–9  .526 Arizona State–Flagstaff1–7 .1254–8  .333 New Mexico1–11 .0833–17  .150 Hardin–Simmons0–6 .0001–9  .100 |
| 1942–43 Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Dartmouth11–1 .91720–3  .870 Princeton9–3 .75014–6  .700 Pennsylvania6–6 .50014–7  .667 Cornell6–6 .5007–15  .318 Columbia5–7 .4178–8  .500 Harvard4–8 .33312–14  .462 Yale1–11 .0836–17  .261 | 1942–43 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT St. John's6–1 .85721–3  .875 Manhattan5–2 .71418–3  .857 Fordham4–2 .66716–6  .727 NYU3–2 .60016–6  .727 Hofstra3–2 .60015–6  .714 CCNY2–5 .2868–10  .444 St. Francis (NY)1–5 .16713–7  .650 Brooklyn0–5 .0006–11  .353 | 1942–43 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Creighton10–0 1.00019–2  .905 Oklahoma A&M7–3 .70014–10  .583 Washington University7–3 .7009–10  .474 Saint Louis3–7 .30011–10  .524 Drake3–7 .3008–9  .471 Tulsa0–10 .0000–10  .000 |
| 1942–43 Mountain States Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Wyoming4–0 1.00031–2  .939 BYU7–1 .87515–7  .682 Utah State4–4 .50014–7  .667 Utah1–7 .12510–12  .455 Colorado State0–4 .0007–9  .438 | 1942–43 New England Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Rhode Island State 7–1 .87516–3  .842 Connecticut 5–3 .6258–7  .533 Maine 4–4 .5009–6  .600 Northeastern 2–6 .2507–12  .368 New Hampshire 2–6 .2504–14  .222 | 1942–43 Pacific Coast Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT North Washington †12–4 .75024–7  .774 Oregon10–6 .62519–10  .655 Washington State9–7 .56319–11  .633 Oregon State8–8 .50019–9  .679 Idaho1–15 .06314–20  .412 South USC7–1 .87523–5  .821 UCLA4–4 .50014–7  .667 Stanford4–4 .50010–11  .476 California1–7 .1259–15  .375 † Conference playoff series winner |
| 1942–43 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Kentucky8–1 .88917–6  .739 LSU11–2 .84618–4  .818 Tennessee †6–3 .66714–4  .778 Mississippi State13–7 .65014–8  .636 Georgia Tech7–4 .63611–5  .688 Vanderbilt9–7 .56310–8  .556 Alabama9–9 .50010–10  .500 Ole Miss6–8 .4298–10  .444 Tulane4–8 .3334–9  .308 Georgia1–8 .1114–13  .235 Auburn1–12 .0771–14  .067 Florida0–6 .0008–7  .533 † Regular-season championship and SEC Tournament winner | 1942–43 Southern Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Duke12–1 .92320–6  .769 George Washington †8–2 .80017–6  .739 South Carolina6–3 .66713–6  .684 Davidson7–4 .63618–6  .750 The Citadel5–3 .6258–5  .615 William & Mary6–4 .60011–10  .524 VMI7–5 .5838–8  .500 North Carolina State7–5 .5837–9  .438 Maryland5–5 .5008–8  .500 Richmond4–4 .50011–5  .688 North Carolina8–9 .47112–10  .545 Virginia Tech3–6 .3337–7  .500 Washington and Lee2–10 .1677–12  .368 Wake Forest1–10 .0911–10  .091 Clemson0–10 .0003–13  .188 † Southern Conference Tournament winner | 1942–43 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT Texas9–3 .75019–7  .731 Rice9–3 .75017–9  .654 Arkansas8–4 .66719–7  .731 TCU5–7 .41718–9  .667 SMU4–8 .33310–8  .556 Texas A&M4–8 .33311–11  .500 Baylor3–9 .2506–14  .300 |

### Major independents

A total of 60 college teams played as major independents. Villanova (19–2) had the best winning percentage (.905) and Western Kentucky State (24–3) finished with the most wins.
1942–43 NCAA men's basketball independents standings :
* 1942–43 NCAA men's basketball independents standings
* vteConfOverall
* TeamW L PCTW L PCT
* Villanova– –19–2
* .905
* Notre Dame– –18–2
* .900
* Seton Hall– –16–2
* .889
* Western Kentucky State– –24–3
* .889
* Akron– –18–3
* .857
* Rochester (N.Y.)– –12–2
* .857
* Toledo– –22–4
* .846
* St. Joseph's– –18–4
* .818
* Georgetown– –22–5
* .815
* DePaul– –19–5
* .792
* Penn State– –15–4
* .789
* Western Michigan– –15–4
* .789
* Bowling Green State– –18–5
* .783
* Washington & Jefferson– –18–5
* .783
* Nevada– –14–4
* .778
* Montana State– –17–5
* .773
* Valparaiso– –17–5
* .773
* Niagara– –20–6
* .769
* Indiana State– –13–4
* .765
* Detroit– –15–5
* .750
* Denver– –19–8
* .704
* Miami (Ohio)– –11–5
* .688
* LIU– –13–6
* .684
* Siena– –13–6
* .684
* Pittsburgh– –10–5
* .667
* West Virginia– –14–7
* .667
* Duquesne– –12–7
* .632
* Wichita Municipal– –12–7
* .632
* Montana– –15–9
* .625
* Muhlenberg– –13–8
* .619
* Ohio– –11–7
* .611
* San Francisco– –13–9
* .591
* Marshall– –10–7
* .588
* Saint Mary's– –12–9
* .571
* La Salle– –13–10
* .565
* Canisius– –11–9
* .550
* Loyola (Ill.)– –12–10
* .545
* Lafayette– –7–6
* .538
* Dayton– –9–8
* .529
* Santa Clara– –10–9
* .526
* Kent State– –12–12
* .500
* Temple– –11–11
* .500
* Cincinnati– –9–10
* .474
* Marquette– –9–10
* .474
* St. Bonaventure– –8–9
* .471
* Brown– –9–11
* .450
* Syracuse– –8–10
* .444
* Rutgers– –7–9
* .438
* Geneva– –9–12
* .429
* Navy– –6–8
* .429
* Bradley– –8–11
* .421
* Colgate– –5–7
* .417
* Bucknell– –5–8
* .385
* Virginia– –8–13
* .381
* Xavier– –6–10
* .375
* Army– –5–10
* .333
* Lehigh– –5–10
* .333
* Loyola (Md.)– –7–14
* .333
* Butler– –4–9
* .308
* Boston University– –3–10
* .231
* Loyola (Calif.)– –3–10
* .231
* Holy Cross– –1–5
* .167
* Michigan State– –2–14
* .125

### Informal championships

| Conference | Regular season winner | Conference tournament | Tournament venue (City) | Tournament winner |
| Middle Three Conference | Rutgers | No Tournament | No Tournament | No Tournament |
NOTE: Despite its name, the Middle Three Conference was an informal scheduling alliance rather than a true conference, and its members played as independents. In play among the three member schools in 1942–43, Rutgers finished with a 3–1 record and Lafayette with a 2–2 record, while Lehigh had record of 1–3.

### Statistical leaders
## Post-season tournaments
### NCAA tournament
#### Semifinals and final

| National semifinals | National semifinals | National semifinals | National Final | National Final | National Final |
| Georgetown | Georgetown | 53 | | | |
| DePaul | DePaul | 49 | | | |
| DePaul | DePaul | 49 | Georgetown | Georgetown | 34 |
| | | | Wyoming | Wyoming | 46 |
| Texas | Texas | 54 | Wyoming | Wyoming | 46 |
| Wyoming | Wyoming | 58 | | | |

### National Invitation tournament
#### Semifinals and finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals |
| St. John's | 69 | | |
| Fordham | 43 | | |
| Fordham | 43 | St. John's | 48 |
| | | Toledo | 27 |
| Toledo | 46 | Toledo | 27 |
| Washington & Jefferson | 39 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Fordham | 34 |
| | | Washington & Jefferson | 39 |

## Awards
### Consensus All-American teams

Consensus First Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Ed Beisser | Senior | Creighton |
| Charles B. Black | Sophomore | Kansas |
| Harry Boykoff | Sophomore | St. John's |
| Bill Closs | Senior | Rice |
| Andy Phillip | Junior | Illinois |
| Kenny Sailors | Junior | Wyoming |
| George Senesky | Senior | Saint Joseph's |
Consensus Second Team :
| Player | Class | Team |
| Gale Bishop | Junior | Washington State |
| Otto Graham | Junior | Northwestern |
| John Kotz | Senior | Wisconsin |
| Robert Rensberger | Senior | Notre Dame |
| Gene Rock | Junior | Southern California |
| Gerry Tucker | Junior | Oklahoma |

### Major player of the year awards

* Helms Player of the Year: George Senesky, Saint Joseph's (retroactive selection in 1944)
* Sporting News Player of the Year: Andy Phillip, Illinois

### Other major awards

* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Andrew Levane, St. John's

## Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
| Team | Former Coach | Interim Coach | New Coach | Reason |
| Georgetown | Elmer Ripley | | None | After the end of the season, Georgetown suspended all athletic programs for the duration of World War II Ripley moved to the head coaching position at Columbia the following season. |
| Notre Dame | George Keogan | | Moose Krause | |